Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We’re in our Spring Fundraiser and you can help! Support KSMU programming today!

What it was like experiencing the 'second pandemic,' a moment of racial reckoning, from the Ozarks

A'dja Jones and Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck
StoryCorps
A'dja Jones and Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck

Missouri State University student athlete Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck and MSU's director of student athlete development and community engagement A'dja Jones talk about racism in the United States.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many lives, including teachers and students who had to move to online learning.

They had to adjust to a new mode of education and didn't get to interact with one another in person.

A'dja Jones, director of student athlete development and community engagement at Missouri State University, and MSU student athlete Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck experienced that firsthand.

Soon after schools shut down, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in Minneapolis, was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin who's since been convicted in Floyd's death.

Jones and Nyemeck discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and what Jones calls the "second pandemic"—the social and racial justice movement.

Michele Skalicky has worked at KSMU since the station occupied the old white house at National and Grand. She enjoys working on both the announcing side and in news and has been the recipient of statewide and national awards for news reporting. She likes to tell stories that make a difference. Michele enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, camping and leisurely kayaking.